Kentucky Derby Road: Feb. 26 Road to the Kentucky Derby Condition Stakes

Road to the Kentucky Derby Condition Stakes, 1,609 Meters (1 Mile)
The winner of this race, Godolphin's Opera Ballo, isn't nominated to the Triple Crown, and neither were the other five entries, but he proved to be in a class by himself deserving of his odds-on favoritism. After stalking stablemate Olympus Point into the stretch, Opera Ballo was set down for the drive by Jamie Doyle and separated himself from the field in the blink of an eye to win by open lengths going away on the Kempton Park synthetic. The final time was 1:38.05, but the winner clearly quickened in the stretch. Trained by Charlie Appleby, Opera Ballo impressively won his debut at the same track using the same running style. His future is likely on the turf if post-race comments after his debut come to fruition. By the four-time Group 1 winner Ghaiyyath, out of Dubai Opera. Remaining order of finish: Hott Shott, Saddadd, Quai De Bethune, Molveno, Olympus Point.